Description: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be held from June 30 to July 4 and July 7 to 11, 2011 on the National Mall. Read more about the history of the Folklife Festival here. At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival this year, the Peace Corps is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order authorizing the Peace Corps to
Description: A new exhibition offers a chance to explore the world of Grand Tour travel in the late eighteenth century, similar to that experienced by the Smithsonian’s own founding donor, James Smithson.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="378" caption="George S. Switzer, Division of Mineral Sciences Chairman, 1963-1968; Associate Curator, 1948-1956, standing at left, with Durward Howes seated at desk, and Associate Curator Paul Desautels standing to the right. Mr. Howes is looking at a collection of Mississippi freshwater pearls that he donated to the Smithsonian, April